David Beckham’s dreams of appearing at another major tournament finals appear to be over after England coach Fabio Capello made it clear that he will not pick the former captain again (England 9/1 – Euro 2012 outright).

Having initially been ditched by Steve McClaren following the 2006 World Cup, the former Manchester United star bounced back to reclaim his place in the squad and looked set to play in his fourth consecutive World Cup finals this summer.

However, the LA Galaxy star missed the chance to make history when he suffered an Achilles injury prior to the South Africa tournament.

Despite the severity of the injury, the 35-year-old has always maintained that he would return for both club and country and would never retire from international football.

He had hoped to play some part in England’s Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, with three matches scheduled to take place before the end of the year, but Capello let slip in an interview prior to Wednesday’s 2-1 friendly victory over Hungary that Beckham would no longer be part of the national set-up but may play in a farewell match before Christmas (England 2/7 – to win Group G).

“I hope when David is okay he can play here the last game at Wembley in a friendly to say goodbye and thank you very much to the crowd,” he said. “I won’t be picking him for any more competitive matches.

“David is a fantastic player, he was really important, but we have to see the new players for the future because the age is important for a lot of people, not only for David.”

Beckham won 115 caps for his country and played at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups, as well as at Euro 2000 and 2004 and he skippered the national side on 58 occasions.

He polarized opinion within the media, with many pundits praising his commitment and ability to score from dead-ball situations and fire accurate 50-yard passes, while others felt he was one-dimensional and lacked the necessary pace to create a real impact out wide.

But his enthusiasm for the England team could never be called into question and Capello even allowed him to sit in the dug-out during the World Cup to offer support to his former team-mates.

The player’s agent responded to the news by stating that Beckham would still be available for England and has not officially retired from international football but it does appear that November’s friendly at Wembley will be the last time he is seen in an England shirt.

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